“My understanding is, if he makes the team, there’s a deal in place,” ex-Columbus GM Doug MacLean said. “I never did a pre-arranged deal [like] that, but I never had of this guy’s calibre come in [on a PTO].

“My understanding is he’s at $925,000. The deal will be $925,000.”

Raymond, who spent his entire six year career in Vancouver before the Canucks let him walk this summer, is a former 25-goal scorer that scored 22 points in 46 games last season.

““My understanding is, if he makes the team, there’s a deal in place — you said yesterday ‘wink wink’ — I think there’s a deal in place,” ex-Columbus GM Doug MacLean said to show host Darren Millard. “I never did a per-arranged deal [like] that, but I never had of this guy’s calibre come in [on a PTO].””

possibly the hardest two sentences I’ve ever read on PHT.

Mike Halford - Sep 13, 2013 at 3:15 PM

Yeah, the verbatim quote was a tad confusing. It’s been edited for brevity and clarity.

It’s probably not coincidence that $925,000 is the most a player can make on a 1 way contract and not have any of that money count against the cap if he is sent to the minors. Same amount Colton Orr got.

Good point. The Leafs look good this year so I doubt it will happen but it’s a great insurance policy. If he puts up decent numbers he could fetch a solid return at the deadline from a team against the cap (which looks like most potential playoff teams).

Agree completely that there is nothing but upside to having Mason Raymond on the roster. However, while his contract may indeed be easy to move at the trade deadline, I doubt very much that this will occur. Just wait until you see what this guy brings to the table. Tons of heart, great speed and loads of hockey acumen. He reads the play really well and has a pretty nice set of hands. The only reason this guy got released in the first place was cap constaints in Vancouver. Big mistake in my opinion; the Canucks will be missing this dude before very long.

Pretty sad commentary on the financial woes of most teams around the league when a young UFA with Raymond’s skill-set remains unsigned this far into free-agency. Sucks for Raymond that he had to ultimately sign for so very little after 4 years of quality service and that his team couldn’t even afford to keep him, but great news for the Leafs! To say that Vancouver’s loss is our gain would be a huge understatement.

Assuming this report from Doug MacLean is accurate (love Doug but he can be a bit of a flake at times) and Raymond makes the team out of camp (can’t honestly see that being a concern), then this is GREAT news for ‘Leaf Nation’!

So what does this mean for Cody Franson? Nonis has repeatedly said he could fit Kadri and Franson in with 4.9 in space. That was farfetched to begin with, but now with Kadri under contract and this supposed deal with Raymond, it’s getting less and less likely that they can afford Franson.

The farfetched statement is that the Leafs only had 4.9mil in cap space before Kadri was signed. That measurement is before the season starts. You know very well that the roster right now, and the roster at the start of the season are two different things. There are offers on the table from both parties that the Leafs can afford. If a team offer sheets him, the Leafs will, and can, match anything under 3.3mil. If the sheet is over 3.3mil, then the Leafs will take the first rounder and Morgan Rielly will make his NHL debut. That being said, they aren’t arguing over money, they are arguing over term. I’d be putting my money on Franson signing with the Leafs pretty soon though, because if Franson wants to stay in Toronto, the situation is totally in the Leafs favor any way you look a it. From everything hat I have read, he does want to stay.